


Exhale Into Me

by gwennolmarie



Category: Red Dead Redemption
Genre: Angst, Idiots, Kissing, M/M, Pining, Pre-Canon, Shotgunning, Smoking, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 04:32:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17114528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gwennolmarie/pseuds/gwennolmarie
Summary: “Somehow, you’ve been with us, o’er half-a-decade,” Arthur started casually, closed his journal, “Yet, I ain’t never seen you smoke.”John looks at him fully, eyes wide and expression open.“Well?” Arthur grumbles.“Well?” John echoes, face screwing up in confusion.“Well,” Arthur emphasizes, “You wanna try?”





	Exhale Into Me

Arthur saw him.   
  
_Looking._   
  
Peering from the corner of his eye.   
  
Diverting his gaze as soon as Arthur started to turn his head towards him.   
  
_Not fast enough._  
  
Arthur was sketching by the campfire, sitting cross-legged with his back against one of the logs. Feet pulled out of his boots to warm his socked toes.   
  
Cigarette hanging out of his mouth.   
  
He glances up from his sketch of a somewhat-misshapen bear, watches John from under the brim of his hat.   
  
John is watching him right back. Arthur taps the pencil against the page, making dozens on little dots. Then lifts his head.   
  
Sees John’s hair still moving, the younger man pretending to look at the rising moon.   
  
“What’s yer _deal_?” Arthur rumbles, lets the built-up annoyance color his voice.   
  
“What?” John asks, surprised.   
  
“Ya keep starin’ at me,” Arthur pulls the cig from between his teeth, “Somethin’ on my face?”  
  
“No!” John chokes out, waves his hand, “I mean yes. _Ugly_.”   
  
Even John looks disappointed at his joke.   
  
“Har har,” Arthur drawls, takes a hit.  
  
Curious eyes track his every movement.   
  
Arthur frowns and John glances away again.   
  
The firelight is just bright enough to illuminate the red flush on the young man’s face.   
  
He takes another inhale, let’s the warmth expand in his lungs.   
  


John fidgets.   
  
“Somehow, you’ve been with us, o’er half-a-decade,” Arthur started casually, closed his journal, “Yet, I ain’t _never_ seen you smoke.”    
  
John looks at him fully, eyes wide and expression open.   
  
“Well?” Arthur grumbles.  
  
“Well?” John echoes, face screwing up in confusion.   
  
“ _Well_ ,” Arthur emphasizes, “You wanna try?”   
  
John stutters, nods and shuffles closer.   
  
Most everyone else is asleep, ‘ _Old Farts_ ’, Arthur thinks. At least it oughta save the boy some embarrassment.   
  
Arthur holds out the cigarette and John takes it hesitantly, holds it awkwardly between index and thumb.   
  
“Don’t goan burn yourself, now,” The older man grumbles.   
  
John closes his lips against the paper and glances nervously at Arthur before inhaling.   
  
And promptly gagging, holding the cig far to the side as he coughs into his sleeve.   
  
Arthur laughs, full of gleeful amusement. John glares through clearing his throat.   
  
“What the fuck, Arthur?” John complains, hoarse.    
  
“Oh, hush, ya big _baby_ ,” Arthur snags the cigarette back, “Here, I’ll make it easier for ya.”  
  
The older man inhales the smoke, motions John closer.   
  
The younger hesitantly leans in.   
  
Arthur grabs John’s jaw, squeezes into his cheeks until the younger’s lips part.   
  
He ghosts their lips together and exhales.   
  
John gasps at the same time, yanks back and stares wildly at Arthur.   
  
“See! Didn’t make ya cough,” Arthur smirks, “Do that enough times and you’ll be able to take it straight.”   
  
John swallows loudly, breath whistling out through his nose. His gaze darts all over the older man’s face.   
  
_Searching._   
  
Arthur ain’t sure what for.  
  
John uses a hand on the log to steady himself, gaze shying away as he leans back in, half of the way.   
  
Waiting for Arthur to make up the distance.   
  
The older man rolls his eyes, gets a hand curled around the back of John’s neck, gets more of the smoke in his lungs and leans the rest of the way in.   
  
Waits for John to meet his eyes, open his mouth.   
  
When the brown eyes make contact and those chapped lips part.   
  
Arthur almost calls it off, when he sees _want_ in the younger man’s gaze.   
  
Keeps his expression neutral instead, curiosity swiping his common sense from under him as he presses his lips fully to John’s, holds the younger’s head in place as he exhales.   
  
John flinches when their lips touch, slams his eyes shut, and inhales.   
  
The share the same breathing space for longer than necessary.   
  
John tries to pull back but Arthur holds him steady.   
  
Understands, now, why John had been watching him so much lately.   
  
Kid had a _crush_.   
  
Arthur was flattered, sorta.   
  
He flicks the last bit of the cigarette into the campfire without looking, pulls John into a deep kiss, using his newly freed hand to cup under John’s jaw.   
  
It ain’t the kiss that has John re-opening his eyes.   
  
It’s Arthur’s fingertip tracing the shell of the younger man’s ear.   
  
John makes a curious, whimpering sound as his hands go to Arthur’s thighs, leaning his weight onto the older man.   
  
Just as John starts to settle into the kiss…  
  
Arthur pulls away. Lets John flounder and almost fall into his lap.  
  
“You don’t want _me_ , kid,” Arthur says harshly, “I _promise_.”   
  
Arthur gets up, knocking John backward as he collects his sketchbook and boots, retreats to his tent.   
  
He doesn’t look back, spends the better half of the night staring at the ceiling of his tent, running the pad of his finger over his lips.   

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr @gwennolmarie


End file.
